Conference

4^th MK FMHS International Conference

18-19 September 2023

The Centre for Cancer Research (CCR) in collaboration with the M. Kandiah Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (MK FMHS) and UTAR Hospital, organised the 4^th MK FMHS International Conference on “Harnessing the power of cell therapy: Advances from bench to bedside” from 18 to 19 September 2023. Held at The Everly Putrajaya, the international conference brought together over 250 delegates from diverse backgrounds, including basic science and translational researchers, post-doctoral fellows, graduate students, clinical investigators, physicians, patient advocates, regulators, and corporate partners.

The second plenary session, chaired by Assoc. Prof. Dr Ong Hooi Tin, featured Dr Houra Loghmani from Oncolytics Biotech, Canada who spoke about “Pelareorep as an enabling technology for both chemotherapies and immune-oncology therapies.”

The conference served as a platform to explore the transformative potential of cell therapy, with a primary focus on highlighting remarkable research developments, from fundamental discoveries to their practical applications, particularly in addressing non-communicable diseases and oncology. Additionally, the conference placed significant emphasis on ethical considerations and the necessity of a regulatory framework. This underlines the shared responsibility within the scientific community to realise the promises of cell therapy in an ethical, safe, and responsible manner, benefiting both individuals and society at large.

UTAR President Ir Prof. Dato’ Dr Ewe Hong Tat was invited to deliver the opening address. In conjunction with the conference, a memorandum of understanding exchange ceremony was held between UTAR and Cryocord Sdn Bhd. Exchanging the signed MoU were UTAR President Ir Prof. Dato’ Dr Ewe Hong Tat (left) and Cryocord Sdn Bhd Managing Director Mr James Then Khong Lek.

Aside from that, the Dr Wu Lien-Teh Inaugural Memorial Lecture was also held at the conference which was made possible with the support from Dr Wu Lien-Teh Education Society. Prof. Dr Kehkooi Kee from Tsinghua University, China delivered his presentation titled “The in-vitro circle of life using embryonic stem cells to build human reproductive organoids”. In his sharing session, he spoke about the need for more studies and research on stem cells, milestones of stem cell research, cell therapy and other related topics.

The conference featured two plenary sessions with the first session chaired by MK FMHS Dean Emeritus Prof. Dr Cheong Soon Keng. Prof. Dr John E. J. Rasko AO from the University of Sydney, Australia delivered his lecture on “Cell therapeutics: New treatment paradigms for blood disorders”.

The conference also featured a total of 10 symposiums, providing a unique platform for knowledge exchange, collaboration, and the establishment of lasting connections. The conference consisted of nine tracks, namely “New-generation vaccines”, “Cancer immunotherapy”, “MSCs as a therapeutic tool”, “Evolving roles of the transfusion services”, “Advances in CAR-T therapy”, “CAR-T therapy in the clinical setting”, “Cell therapy and nursing care”, “Cell therapies for ageing joints” and “Engineered cells for disease modelling”. Among prominent speakers invited were Dr Becky Griffiths (Australian Red Cross Lifeblood), Assoc. Prof. Dr Ngaire Elwood (Murdoch Childrens’ Research Institute), Dr Tan Sen Mui (Ampang Hospital), Dato’ Dr Chang Kian Meng (Sunway Medical Centre), Prof. Dr Khatijah Yusoff (Universiti Putra Malaysia), Dr Lim Kue Peng (Cancer Research Malaysia), Prof. Dr Chin Sze Piaw (Cytopeutics Sdn Bhd), Assoc. Prof. Dr Badrul Hisham Yahaya (Universiti Sains Malaysia), Assoc. Prof. Dr Tan Jun Jie (Universiti Sains Malaysia) and many others.

There were also two sponsored lunch symposia. The first was a Biomed Global Lunch Symposium titled “Our commitment to cell and gene therapy” was conducted by Dr Suruchi Arora from Bio Techne online. The second was the Cryocord Symposium titled “Cord blood – is it a biomedical waste or gold mine?” presented by MK FMHS academics Assoc. Prof. Dr Lee Bee Sun (right photo) and Dr Fann Rui Jeat (left photo) and moderated by Emeritus Prof. Dr Cheong Soon Keng.

The conference ended with the presentation of oral papers. MK FMHS Doctor of Philosophy (Medical Science) candidate Ms Nalini Devi Verusingam presented the first paper titled “Establishment of hiPSCS Derived 3D Lung Organoids as Disease Modelling for Respiratory Diseases”, Ms Tai Lihui from Cytopeutics Sdn Bhd presented on “Multiple Dosing of Cytopeutics® Human Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cells is Safe in BALB/c Mice Toxicity Evaluation” and MK FMHS Master of Medical Science student, Ms Lee Soke Sun, presented on “Analysis of Secretome Profile in Umbilical Cord-derived Mesenchymal Stromal Cells Cocultured with Senescent Normal Human Dermal Fibroblast”.

 The sponsors of the international conference were The International Society of Blood Transfusion, Biomed Global, Cryocord Sdn Bhd, Auxi Therapeutics Sdn Bhd, Straits Scientific (M) Sdn Bhd, Malaysian Genomics Resource Centre Bhd, Cytopeutics Sdn Bhd, Bio-Diagnostics Sdn Bhd, Johnson & Johnson Sdn Bhd, Next Gene Scientific Sdn Bhd, Canvio Sdn Bhd, MymAb Biologics and Biotek Abadi Sdn Bhd. The CCR extends its utmost appreciation to all sponsors and the team of organising committee members who have contributed to making this conference a great success.

Workshop

“Writing a Successful Grant Proposal in the Sciences”

5 October 2023

 

The Centre for Cancer Research (CCR), in collaboration with the Malaysian Society for Biochemistry & Molecular Biology (MSBMB) & Taylor’s University, organised a workshop on Writing a Successful Grant Proposal in the Sciences. Participants of the workshop had the privilege of learning from Prof. Emeritus Dr Geoffrey Cordell from the University of Illinois, Chicago USA. The workshop was attended by researchers, early career academicians, medical and health sciences postgraduate students and members of the public.

Prior to the workshop, Prof. Cordell gave a public seminar on Writing a successful grant proposal in the Sciences. During this seminar, Prof. Cordell shared his personal experiences in grant writing, along with numerous tips to enhance the success of grant applications. His insights were exceptionally valuable, given his extensive experience serving on review committees for grants in both his home country and Malaysia.

For the writing workshop, participants were asked to send their proposals to Prof. Cordell beforehand. Prof. Cordell then gave personalised feedback to each participant based on their individual proposals to help them in improving the quality of their proposals.

The session was well-received by all participants, who found it both enjoyable and informative, benefiting greatly from Prof. Cordell's expertise. Prof. Ts. Dr Lim Yang Mooi, Advisor and Founding Chairperson of CCR, presented a token of appreciation to Prof. Cordell for his contribution in both the seminar and the workshop. The CCR extends its utmost appreciation to Prof. Cordell for his visit and invaluable contributions.